1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to enhancing telephony. More specifically, the present invention relates to providing background audio during telephonic communication.
2. Related Art
The presence of background music or other sounds can make communication between individuals more interesting and enjoyable. During a telephone call between a caller and a callee, background audio can be added to the vocal signal of the caller such that the callee hears the caller's voice plus the background audio, much like a soundtrack to a movie. Unfortunately, the addition of background audio to vocal signals during telephone calls does not necessarily yield desirable results.
For instance, if the caller is in a quiet environment, the background audio will be combined with a clean vocal signal of the caller resulting in a clean mixed signal. Thus, the callee's communication experience will be enhanced. If, on the other hand, the caller is in a noisy environment, the caller's vocal signal will be mixed with the background audio as well as the environmental noise. The environmental noise may likely conflict with the environmental noise causing the callee's communication experience to degrade.
Since the noise level of a caller's environment is oftentimes unpredictable, there is a need to eliminate or greatly reduce environmental noise from telephonic communications when background audio is added to vocal signals.